I’m Debuting With The Bias I Killed Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 

Producer Jack P hurriedly grabbed the microphone.

“Wait, Code 4 trainee.”

His tone of voice had changed as well.

“You said you could compose?”

“No, I didn’t specifically mention it.”

Yoo Seong-woo smiled shyly.

“If I got the opportunity, I wanted to show you onstage.”

Through the mirror, Go Jae-seong and Yoo Seong-woo’s eyes met for a moment.

Go Jae-seong wasn’t particularly pleased. He hadn’t expected to get blindsided by the rookie like this.

Someone who had invaded his territory wasn’t Han Sang-yoon or Joo-han, but a trainee who hadn’t even been there for a month?

“What? Didn’t you say you were in the rap position?”

“That’s what Jae-seong said…”

At those words, Go Jae-seong let out a short laugh. It was closer to a scoff.

“I didn’t say I was in the rap position.”

He was smiling with his mouth, but not with his eyes.

“I just said I was working on rap lyrics.”

“Ah… you’re right.”

“Sorry, I misunderstood.”

Go Jae-seong lightly bit his lip.

‘He tricked me?’

He had deliberately hidden it. And his expression made it clear that he had calculated even this reaction.

More than anything, what irritated him was…

The rookie wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. He didn’t avert his gaze when their eyes met through the mirror. If anything, he met it head-on.

‘Interesting.’

He forced his expression to relax. The cameras were still rolling.

But inside, he was already seething.

“Then let’s hear it. What’s the title of the song?”

“‘Yoo Seong-woo.’”

In an instant, the judges’ expressions simultaneously stiffened.

“…Huh?”

In a survival show where everyone was called only by their code numbers, an actual name had boldly emerged like this.

Noticing the judges’ bewildered expressions, Yoo Seong-woo smiled innocently and added,

“I made the song after being inspired by the sight of a meteor shower falling from the sky.”

“…Ah, that Yoo Seong-woo~”

“Watching a meteor shower fall is beautiful, haha…”

Awkward laughter spread through the room.

A mere trainee was controlling the atmosphere of the entire set.

“I haven’t finished the MR yet.”

He plucked a guitar string with his fingertip.

Ting

A clear resonance spread throughout the practice room.

“So today, I’ll play it with a guitar accompaniment.”

The vocal trainer asked with interest as he watched Seong-woo skillfully tune the guitar.

“You know how to play guitar too?”

“Yes. I’ve played since I was young.”

“I’m learning a lot of new things about you today. Why did you have so many secrets?”

Yoo Seong-woo smiled awkwardly.

“It wasn’t that I was trying to hide them…”

Thanks to that, his gleaming braces stood out even more.

“I think it’s because I haven’t been here very long yet.”

“It hasn’t even been a month, right?”

“Yes. It’ll be exactly one month next week.”

In reality, no one had even asked him.

It wasn’t easy to have expectations for a rookie trainee who had only recently joined.

Even this reaction had only changed thanks to the signal song.

“Then, Code 4 trainee. Show us the stage you prepared.”

“Yes!”

Finally, he lightly strummed the guitar to check the sound.

Everything was ready.

“Code 4 trainee, we’ll begin the midterm evaluation for the first mission.”

With those words, the red light on the camera filming Yoo Seong-woo head-on blinked.

This was the moment the flow of the survival show would be overturned.

 

***

 

A clear guitar sound quietly spread through the room.

One note, then another.

Even those simple resonances filled the space.

Messy black hair, clunky horn-rimmed glasses, and braces that showed slightly whenever he smiled.

Rather than an idol onstage, he had a youthful face that still looked unmistakably like a student.

And yet, the eye kept being drawn to him.

Even his unfashionable appearance was merely another device that made his stage stand out.

 

♪ I admired them

♪ The shining stars

 

“……?”

Vocal trainer Park Jae-hoon’s eyebrows moved slightly.

The first line.

With that one short line, the atmosphere changed.

 

♪ To brighten the dark night

♪ The light is still too weak

 

‘What is this?’

Park Jae-hoon unconsciously straightened his posture.

 

♪ Someday, could I shine

♪ As brightly as those stars?

 

It felt less like listening to a song and more like peeking into someone’s story.

At that moment, he realized.

‘It’s his tone.’

A voice that was plain like an old song playing from an old radio, yet somehow touched a corner of the heart.

His heart began beating slowly.

The joy of discovering a rough gemstone.

Because it was still unpolished, it made him even more excited about its potential.

‘I want to teach him. I want to nurture him.’

He unconsciously tightened his fingertips.

The judges sitting beside him had similar expressions by now.

 

♪ Still afraid

♪ But I have a feeling

♪ That it will be a wonderful journey

 

Before he knew it, he was leaning forward. To get a little closer, to make sure he didn’t miss even one thing.

 

♪ The moment you give up

♪ You lose the game

 

There were no flashy techniques or explosive high notes.

 

♪ I look forward

♪ To my tomorrow

♪ The size of my dreams

♪ Changing day by day

 

Instead, there was a story.

 

♪ Watch over me

♪ My song

♪ Look forward to

♪ My tomorrow

♪ Join me

♪ On my journey

 

The song wasn’t flashy.

The lyrics were simple, too.

But that was precisely why they were clearer.

A song that wouldn’t look shabby even after all the bubbles disappeared.

 

♪ If you believe in me

♪ With every ounce of strength I have

♪ I’ll shine

♪ And become

♪ The most dazzling

♪ Star

♪ And run to you!

 

A trainee had made that.

A trainee who hadn’t even been there for a month.

“That doesn’t make sense…”

Katin muttered quietly.

Jack P nodded instead of answering.

The stage that had shaken the practice room with admiration was no longer remembered.

Only this stage filled their minds.

At this moment, the main PD of Boys Code instinctively knew.

“This is it.”

He clenched both fists without realizing it.

“We’re saved. We’re saved.”

It was such a moving moment that it felt like a reward sent down from heaven for taking on a program no one else wanted to do.

Three minutes.

A short time, if you looked at it that way.

But it was more than enough.

“That’s all.”

To show a meteor shower pouring down.

The judges simultaneously reached for their microphones.

“How long have you been studying composition?”

But Kang Se-jun was even faster in seizing the opportunity.

“…A little less than half a year.”

“Wow…”

Sounds of people sucking in their breath came from all around.

“But that means this isn’t even a finished song yet, right?”

“Yes.”

“Huh…”

Kang Se-jun let out a hollow laugh.

Who would have thought he would receive this kind of stimulation from a program he had only taken on because of a personal connection?

He thought that he might as well go straight to his studio after work today.

It was a competitive spirit he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“When it’s finished… how much better are you planning to make it?”

It was sincere admiration.

Yoo Seong-woo smiled brightly and bowed his head.

“Thank you!”

Even though it was only a midterm evaluation, praise was flying out from every direction, prompting the writer to hurriedly raise a sketchbook.

 

[Don’t praise him TOO MUCH. We still have the main stage!]

 

Only then did the midterm evaluation finally come to an end.

A stage no one had expected. And because of that, it remained even more vividly in everyone’s minds.

He was no longer Code 4 trainee.

He was simply Yoo Seong-woo.

 

***

 

As soon as filming ended, Go Jae-seong approached.

‘Go away already.’

I had been in a good mood, but seeing that bastard’s face immediately ruined it.

“I definitely thought you were doing rap lyrics.”

Go Jae-seong spoke with a pleasant smile.

“Was it supposed to be a surprise?”

I moved my lips for a moment before scratching my head.

“…Actually.”

I smiled as though I were a little embarrassed.

“I was originally going to do rap.”

“Yeah.”

“But…”

I let out a short sigh.

“It was seriously so bad.”

Go Jae-seong’s eyes wavered ever so slightly.

“I didn’t know I was that bad at rap…”

“Ah…”

The smile he had maintained the entire time cracked.

An unmistakable expression of bewilderment.

I didn’t stop there.

“I really wanted to look cool, you know? Like…”

I waved my hands through the air.

“The beat would explode! Then I’d go dadadadada with the rap! And everyone would go, ‘Whoa!’ and…”

As my gestures became increasingly exaggerated, he instinctively leaned his upper body backward.

“No, but still…”

Go Jae-seong tried to say something.

“But then I thought about it.”

I cut him off.

There was no need to listen to him for long.

I solemnly raised a hand.

“Do I do this and completely fail?”

Then I let it drop limply.

“Or do I at least do something I know how to do?”

After a short, hollow laugh, Go Jae-seong stared at me.

His eyes clearly said one thing.

‘What is wrong with this guy?’

He must have been getting confused.

Was this an act, or was I genuinely like this?

“…Ha.”

I didn’t miss that opening.

“No, so I was honestly really jealous.”

“Of what?”

This time, Go Jae-seong asked.

“You!”

Go Jae-seong blinked.

“You can rap, and you can show off your performance too…”

I deliberately made an expression of being insanely jealous.

“That was exactly the kind of stage I wanted to do.”

I paused for a moment.

“But I couldn’t do it…”

I finished with a despairing expression.

“…….”

Go Jae-seong stared at me again.

His face was completely confused.

‘Makes sense. This is the expression I had when IMPACTOR’s stage got cut.’

How could there be any despair greater than that for me?

“There are only two of us who can produce, though.”

I smiled brightly and held out my hand.

“Let’s do our best together from now on!”

“……Uh.”

Leaving Go Jae-seong, who had reflexively slapped his hand against mine, behind, I turned around.

“…Isn’t he just a total loser?”

I heard him mutter quietly behind me.

 

***

 

“Everything you’d need is here.”

Until now, I had deliberately stayed away from even the vicinity of the studio.

I had to hide the fact that I could produce.

Finally entering Nix Entertainment’s studio, I found it fully equipped with the latest equipment.

Once I entered the space I was most familiar with, I felt at ease.

“Let’s get this done quickly.”

I habitually rolled my neck and sat down in the chair.

It was eight in the evening.

The goal was to finish mixing before midnight.

Once the keyboard, bass, and drums were added, the sound became much richer.

As tracks piled up on the screen, my confidence grew along with them.

I stood in front of the microphone myself to add harmonies.

“Done.”

When I checked the clock, it was 11:59.

Perfect.

It was nothing special, but it was one of those moments that made me inexplicably happy.

“Let’s just check it and head home.”

The studio was dark.

My voice echoed through the glow of the monitor.

 

♪ Not falling

♪ But pouring toward

♪ Where you are

 

It was a strange feeling.

Sitting in the most familiar place and listening to the most unfamiliar voice I had ever heard… my own.

I listened to the song in silence for a while.

Everything was ready.

There was only one thing left.

Creating an item.

‘That’s why I saved them up without using them.’

I had thought until just before falling asleep about which item would be the most effective.

‘That one should be good…….’

The next day.

The moment I opened my eyes, I spoke.

“Status Window.”

A translucent window appeared.

‘500 points should be enough.’

The most important point of this mission was to emphasize my strengths and hide my weaknesses.

Therefore, the item also had to be created with this in mind.

“Item Creation.”

 

▶Item Name: _______

▶Effect: _______

 

“Perfume that makes only my strengths memorable.”

The moment someone smelled the fragrance, only the ‘good parts’ of my stage would be imprinted in their memory.

Naturally, there was nothing more effective than a scent for triggering the item.

‘It’s not winter, so there shouldn’t be anyone with a stuffy nose from a cold, either. I wonder what it’ll look like this time.’

I was secretly looking forward to it when an unexpected red screen appeared.

 

[※Creation Failed – Insufficient SP]

 

“What?”

Wait.

That didn’t make sense.

“How difficult could an item like this be… that 500 isn’t enough?”

It wasn’t because the item name was bad.

I simply didn’t have enough SP.

‘It must be an error.’

I hurriedly checked the status window.

And I couldn’t say anything.

“…….”

[SP 31]

I blinked.

Then, as if that weren’t enough, I rubbed my eyes repeatedly.

But even after looking again, it was still 31.

“……Why?”

My voice cracked miserably.

‘No, I definitely had more than 500 yesterday.’

I wondered if I was still half-asleep, but the number didn’t change.

At that moment, the status window quietly answered.

[S: SP is a point resource created from people’s ‘interest.’]

“You already told me that, didn’t you?”

That was why I had saved it.

That was why I hadn’t used it.

“Where did all the points I painstakingly saved go?”

Instead of an answer, another sentence appeared.

[S: Is people’s interest eternal?]

“Ah…”

At those words, the breath caught in my throat.